The buy is also in step with a strategy of bringing in companies that work in different, non-healthcare markets and are a great fit with the employee-owned agency's collaborative work environment, Mitzen added.

Olson is known for its promotions and marketing work in the film, entertainment, real estate, and hospitality industries with clients including Walt Disney and Universal Pictures. The 13-year-old firm also handles marketing services for West Coast hospitals and clinics. The Scottsdale office will rebrand as Fingerpaint and will operate with all capabilities offered by the firm.

“We find our clients in pharma value experience and thinking from other industries,” Mitzen said. “Most big holding companies have these learnings but they are siloed in agencies that never come in contact with the pharma clients. We have been doing quite a bit of work in content marketing and promotions, but Olson deepens the bench.”

The Scottsdale office will also serve as a launching pad for a new West Coast Fingerpaint office, Mitzen said, with a significant presence for pharma advertising and PR. There are eight open advertising management positions to be filled there.

“We have pharma clients on the West Coast that have told us ‘if you had an office closer, we would love to give you more work,'” Mitzen said.

Now numbering 120 staffers, Fingerpaint is projecting 2015 top-line revenues of $25 million, with “six or seven” new product launches and line extensions in the works.

Last year the agency added broadcast and online content production to its list of client services with the acquisition of Cotton Hill, moved into its new 30,000-square-foot headquarters, and opened offices in Wayne, PA and Manhattan.

The agency recently became AOR for Eagle Pharmaceuticals, for whom it is launching two unnamed products, on top of existing business with Ikaria, Aerocrine, CSL Behring, Alimera Sciences and Vernalis.

For Olson, joining forces with Fingerpaint yields a bigger reach for its clients. “The team is excited to work on client initiatives that span the globe and provide clients one stop for a truly integrated approach to their marketing efforts. It is an exciting next step for me and my entire group,” said Olson president Michelle Olson.